Organ at St John
CELEBRATING OUR PIPE ORGAN
It is important that our members know the History of the St. John Organ since its installation and dedication in Feb. 1988. Permit me to offer here my clear and vivid knowledge of our magnificent organ and all that was involved before, during and after its acquisition. The JWW organ is the result of dedicated and talented members who gave many hours of time over nearly three years to acquire this instrument.
Music has always been an integral part of worship at St. John and in the mid-80’s it became evident that the existing pipe organ was becoming more and more unreliable. I remember attending a service and the organ malfunctioned. Pastor Larry Wolff sought a solution to this reoccurring problem; he also felt an organ project would be a way of celebrating the church’s major anniversary. I was asked to chair the organ committee to study options and make recommendations. With Pastor's blessings, we formed a committee: Bob Carter, Margaret Fredrickson, Paul Fredrickson, Nancy Haugsjaa, and Larry Kivimaki.
We began our work by inviting area organ maintenance people to determine if any part of the existing organ was of such quality that it could be used for a future instrument. The several consultants who visited concluded that there was basically nothing to save and that it would be unwise to spend any additional monies on the existing “pile of pipes”. However, getting a new organ can be expensive and at that time, monies were short. Other priorities needed to take preference – i.e. Sunday School materials and basic facility issues. The concept had to be put on hold and volunteers who had kept the old organ playable for the previous years worked their magic to keep it going as best as possible. Our committee work went on “hold” for a period of time.
Finally, at the end of the following year, the budget numbers were in the black and Pastor Wolff called to request that I reactivate the group and begin to move forward. Our hours of real work began. There were numerous meetings. We made contact with organ builder reps from various builders including Casavant, Schantz, Austin, J.W.Walker, Organ Clearing House. We listened to proposals and took field trips to other churches to hear their organs. Our committee members each had their opinion about what they wanted and we didn’t all necessarily agree on instruments we did or did not like. We all did agree, however, that the organ needed to adequately lead our liturgy and hymnody, that the organ needed to be able to let us hear the youngest child’s singing voice, that it should play the historic literature, that it could be used as a recital instrument, and that it needed to be a pipe organ. When we came to consensus, the committee unanimously agreed the J.W.Walker organ would meet all of our criteria and we all enjoyed its rich sonorities.
We reported our recommendation to Pastor Wolff who charged the Finance Committee to determine how we were going to raise the funds. Information sessions were held to aid and inform the congregation. The Finance Committee rewrote a mortgage which had a high interest rate to a new lower interest rate, and offered to the congregation a three-pronged motion: the organ, a senior center director to meet the needs of our older congregants, and monies to fund new programs for the youth. The congregation approved and a contract with JWW was signed in summer 1986.
In summer 1987, I attended an International Congress of Organists in England and thereafter went to visit and tour the Walker factory in Brandon, Suffolk, England. Every part of our organ is handcrafted - I saw them pouring metal into molds and cutting lumber for the case. In meeting with Robert Pennells, owner/manager, I asked about the wood carvings that would be on the instrument and suggested that they do a design based on Psalm 150. (If you look at the casework, you will see the lyre, the trumpet, the cymbals!) This was never agreed to in the original contract. I guess he enjoyed our time together and he agreed – at no extra cost! We waited our turn in line.
On Christmas Eve Day 1987, I received a faxed picture of the finished organ – it was a memorable day. The organ had been assembled, played, photo taken, then disassembled at the factory and finally the process of crating for shipping. The huge shipping boxes arrived in the church parking lot early January on a snowy Monday night, and soon thereafter the organ builders/crew flew in from England. Their first job was to assure that the choir loft floor was completely level after which the joyful task of building the organ began. Some of our congregants may still remember watching the process of building the organ while chatting and learning with the Brits from England. Pennell’s son, Andrew, led the forces and the final touch was “voicing” which the tonal expert did. The process took about a month.
The dedication recital was played on February 16, 1988 by concert artist Michael Ferris to a packed gathering. The instrument had been dedicated in that previous Sunday’s service. The choir anthem "Psalm 150" by C. Franck was perfect for that worship service.
During 1988 and for several years thereafter, the organ was publicly heard in a hymn festival led by John Ferguson, and we commissioned both Ferguson and Richard Proulx for new works - choir, organ/brass. The instrument was also demonstrated to public school music students from Maynard - as a result of a cultural council grant which I wrote. On the 10th anniversary occasion in 1998, we celebrated with a hymn festival led by Michael Burkhardt. During the International Year of the Organ 2007 two guest organists and I presented an afternoon concert which drew a sizeable attendance. Other commissioned works by Martha Sobaje (on the occasion of Pr. Wolff’s retirement) and Gwyneth Walker (to honor Lois Toeppner for 25 years of service) have been written over the years intentionally employing our fine instrument. For at least five years, we regularly brought our Sunday School kids to the organ for their learning experience. The first performance of Faure's "Requiem" at St. John was offered on a Passion Sunday family service during Pastor Hoyer's tenure at St. John. Over the years, this instrument has been used to accompany guest choirs, soloists and many of our own member instrumentalists.
Annually we honor all saints. Virtually every day in our church calendar a saint or a contributor to the betterment of mankind is recognized. We are bold to acknowledge our members for their efforts. As we celebrate this instrument, we remember those saints who have gone on before us: Bob Carter, Margaret Fredrickson, Paul Fredrickson. It is also right and proper that we thank and honor these faithful servants who continue to offer their talent to the Glory of God through Music and the Word – Pastor Wolff, Nancy Haugsjaa, Larry Kivimaki, Lois Toeppner.
Soli Deo Gloria,
Lois Z. Toeppner, MM
Minister of Music 1987-2016
Rostered Deacon, ELCA